KL authorities raid pro-opposition publisher

KL authorities raid pro-opposition publisher

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Malaysian authorities raided the newsroom
of a pro-opposition publishing firm and confiscated hundreds of
copies of a tabloid that the government has declared illegal, an
editor said on Monday.

About 13 officials of the Home Affairs Ministry entered the
headquarters of Pemuda Publications with a search warrant on
Friday and took 640 copies of the Malay-language Islah newspaper,
Ahmad Lutfi Othman said.

Ahmad Lutfi claimed that authorities were upset by the
newspaper's coverage of an ongoing feud between the federal
government and opposition leaders over payment of oil royalties
worth millions of dollars to an opposition-ruled state.

Nazarul Mustafa, a senior enforcement official with the Home
Affairs Ministry, confirmed that the raid took place but declined
to elaborate.

Another ministry spokesman, speaking on the condition of
anonymity, said Islah was illegal because Pemuda Publications did
not obtain a permit to print it.

At least 100,000 copies of Islah's first issue hit newsstands
three weeks ago, Ahmad Lutfi said. He had planned to gauge the
public's response to the 24-page publication before coming out
with subsequent issues.

The editor admitted that Islah, which means "reform" in
Arabic, did not have a printing permit. He claimed this was not
necessary for newspapers which had no regular publishing
schedule.

The opposition accuses authorities of trying to curb press
freedoms through the Printing Presses and Publications Act, which
requires publishers to obtain annual permits from the government.

Islah is Ahmad Lutfi's third publication to fall under the
government ax recently. Authorities have banned his pro-reform
monthly magazines, Detik and Al-Wasilah, for allegedly flouting
technical conditions in their printing contracts.

The editor has also been charged for publishing another
newspaper earlier this year without a printing permit. He faces
up to three years in prison and a fine if found guilty. The trial
starts Nov. 22.